1919 


WOMEN   IN   BANKING 

IN  THE 
CITY   OF   MINNEAPOLIS 


PUBLISHED  BY 
THE  VOCATIONAL  INFORMATION  SERVICE 

OF  THE 

WOMAN'S  OCCUPATIONAL  BUREAU 

204  TRANSPORTATION  BLDG. 

MINNEAPOLIS 


WOMEN  IN  BANKING 

IN  THE 
CITY  OF  MINNEAPOLIS 


OCCUPATIONAL  BULLETIN  NO.  1 


Published  by 
The  Vocational  Information  Service 

of  the 

Woman's   Occupational  Bureau 

'204  Transportation  Building 

Minneapolis 


Price,  Twenty-five  Cents 


Copyright,  January,  1919 

Merle  Higley  and 
Woman's   Occupational  Bureau 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

I.     Introduction. 
II.     The  Effect  of  the  War  on  Employment  in  Banks. 

III.  The  Inside  of  a  Bank. 

IV.  What  Women  Do  in  Minneapolis  Banks. 
Section      I.     General  Clerical  Work. 
Section     II.     General  Mechanical  Work. 
Section  III.     Specialized  Mechanical  Work. 

Section  IV.     Specialized  Technical  and  Professional  Work. 

V.     Replacement. 
VI.     Professional  Opportunities  in  Banks. 


CHARTS 


1.     Department  Chart. 


2.  Table  A — Classification  of  Work  by  Wage  and  Age, 

Women  Employed  as  Clerks. 

3.  Table  B — Classification  of  Work  by  Wage  and  Age, 

Women  Employed  as  Typists. 

4.  Table  C — Classification  of  Work  by  Wage  and  Age, 

Women  Employed  as  Adding  Machine  Operators. 

5.  Table  D — Classification  of  Work  by  Wage  and  Age, 

Women  Employed  as  Telephone  Operators. 

6.  Table  E — Classification  of  Work  by  Wage  and  Age, 

Women  employed  as  Bookkeepers. 

7.  Table  F— Classification  of  Work  by  Wage  and  Age, 

Women  Employed  as  Stenographers. 

8.  Table  G — Classification  of  Work  by  Wage  and  Age, 

Women  Employed  as  Tellers. 

9.  Occupational  Distribution  of  Women  in   Minneapolis  Banks. 


PREFACE 

The  tables  presented  in  this  report  were  compiled  from  data  collected 
in  the  Industrial  Survey  of  Women  Employed  Outside  the  Home  under  the 
auspices  of  the  State  Council  of  National  Defense,  the  Minnesota  Public 
Safety  Commission,  and  the  Department  of  Labor  and  Industries,  with  the 
local  cooperation  of  the  Woman's  Occupational  Bureau,  the  Civic  and  Com- 
merce Association,  the  Committee  on  Women  in  Industry,  the  Council  of 
National  Defense,  and  numerous  other  agencies  and  individuals.  Every 
bank,  but  one,  employing  women  in  any  capacity  cooperated  in  giving  the 
information  requested  between  the  period  of  July  1  to  October  1,  1918.  This 
included  data  in  regard  to  name,  address,  wage,  age,  occupation,  nationality, 
and  marital  condition  of  every  woman  employee,  in  addition  to  hours  of 
work,  sanitary  conditions  and  replacement.  The  following  banks  having  the 
largest  number  of  employees  cooperated  by  returning  the  schedules  complete 
without  the  assistance  of  an  investigator: 

Farmers  &  Mechanics  Savings  Bank, 

Northwestern  National  Bank, 

First  &  Security  National  Bank, 

Metropolitan  National  Bank, 

Minnesota  Loan  &  Trust  Co., 

Midland  National  Bank, 

Federal  Reserve  Bank  of  Minneapolis. 

Acknowledgement  should  be  made  to  Miss  Jeanette  Eaton  for  the  use  of 
certain  material  from  a  report  on  office  work  in  banks  which  was  part  of  the 
Minneapolis  Vocational  Education  Survey  in  1915.  The  major  portion  of 
the  general  information  embodied  in  this  bulletin  has  been  contributed  by 
officials  of  the  various  banks  and  it  is  only  through  their  courteous  and 
continuous  cooperation  and  consideration  that  its  publication  has  been  made 
possible. 


MERLE  HIGLEY,  Director, 
January,  1919.  Vocational  Information  Service. 


I.   INTRODUCTION 

The  banking  business  of  Minneapolis  is  conducted  through  three  general 
types  of  institutions :  national  and  state  banks  doing  a  commercial  business ; 
savings  and  trust  companies;  and  firms  dealing  in  bonds  and  commercial 
paper.  There  are  about  fifty  banks  doing  a  straight  commercial  business ; 
six  large  ones,  employing  from  35  to  400  people  each,  being  located  down- 
town, the  remainder  being  neighborhood  banks  with  a  small  number  of 
employees  in  each.  In  these  six  large  banks  and  the  Federal  Reserve  Bank, 
646  men  and  532  women  were  employed  at  the  time  of  this  study,  174  men 
and  103  women  being  employed  in  the  forty  or  more  small  institutions 
scattered  through  the  city.  The  great  majority  of  the  women  in  banks  are 
single,  native-born,  and  live  at  home.  About  eight  small  banks  have  no 
women  employees. 

To  boys  seeking  a  gentlemanly  occupation,  employment  by  banks  has 
possessed  prestige  and  glamour.  Girls,  with  no  previous  training  for  clerical 
work  other  than  a  high  school  education,  and,  prior  to  the  war,  having  no 
thought  of  self-support,  also  seek  employment  in  banks  as  a  high-grade 
means  of  livelihood.  The  majority  have  no  conception  of  the  kinds  of 
work  performed  in  banks,  of  the  training  required  to  become  an  efficient 
member  of  the  organization,  or  of  the  large  amount  of  detailed  routine 
clerical  work  which  must  be  accurately  done  with  speed  and  persistence  for 
some  period  of  time  before  promotion  in  salary  or  change  of  position  can 
occur.  The  excellent  environment  and  organization  of  local  banks,  together 
with  the  seeming  ease,  assurance,  and  celerity  with  which  the  machinery 
moves,  does  not  reveal  this  to  the  casual  observer. 

The  major  portion  of  clerical  work  in  banks  that  is  done  by  beginning 
workers  varies  little  in  interest  or  content  from  that  of  clerical  workers  in 
public  utility  companies  who  enter  toll  charges  in  ledgers,  figure  rates  on 
gas  and  electric  power,  sort  bills,  toll  checks,  and  transfers,  or  post  items 
on  an  adding  machine  for  railroads  or  other  large  corporations.  The 
consistent  performance  of  such  clerical  detail  trains  the  worker  in  concen- 
tration, speed,  and  accuracy,  which,  provided  he  has  the  necessary  minimum 
educational  training,  gives  him  a  foundation  of  habitual  facility  upon  which 
his  promotion  to  other  more  responsible  positions  may  be  based. 

The  general  qualifications  for  workers  entering  the  banking  business 
with  a  view  to  promotion  is  preferably  a  high  school  education,  mathematical 
ability,  legible  penmanship,  alertness,  adaptability,  and  excellent  character. 
Ample  opportunity  for  advancement  is  offered  by  all  banks  to  their  am- 
bitious employees,  both  boys  and  girls.  Since  even  persons  contemplating 
work  in  a  bank  as  a  career  know  so  little  of  the  variety  of  work  done  in 
different  departments  in  large  banks,  of  the  minimum  qualifications  necessary 
for  efficient  service  in  such  work,  and  of  the  opportunities  for  training  in 
business  and  advancement  in  a  profession,  the  publication  of  such  informa- 
tion is  deemed  valuable.  This  bulletin  will  attempt  to  describe  the  effects 
of  the  war  on  employment  in  local  banks;  to  tell  what  kind  of  work  is  done 
by  each  department  in  a  bank  and  its  relation  to  the  other  departments;  to 
give  specific  occupations  of  women  in  these  various  departments,  together 
with  their  wage  and  age;  and  to  discuss  their  opportunities  for  promotion. 
It  may  to  some  extent  clarify  the  vocational  choice  of  those  contemplating 
banking  as  an  occupation,  and  also  be  of  some  value  to  those  in  the  banking 
profession  as  a  fairly  representative  picture  of  a  large  portion  of  their 
working  staff. 


WOMEN  IN  BANKING  7 

ii 

The  Effect  of  the  War  on  Employment  in  Banks. 

The  largest  withdrawal  of  men  workers  from  a  single  kind  of  business 
through  enlistment  and  draft  immediately  following  our  declaration  of  war, 
was  from  the  banks  of  the  city.  Two-thirds  of  the  male  employees  were 
between  the  ages  of  twenty-one  and  thirty-one.  About  ninety  per  cent  of  the 
total  employees  of  the  banks  were  men,  women  being  employed  as  telephone 
operators,  stenographers,  ladies'  tellers,  typists,  and  in  clerical  work  of  various 
kinds.  In  Minneapolis  banks  probably  not  more  than  twenty  women  in  April, 
1917,  held  positions  of  responsibility  such  as  private  secretaries,  managers  or 
assistant  managers  of  departments,  and  tellers.  Fifteen  months  later,  we 
find  th#t  over  forty  per  cent  of  the  employees  of  banks  are  women,  more  than 
eighty  of  whom  are  employed  as  private  secretaries,  tellers,  managers  and 
assistant  managers,  and  stenographers,  receiving  a  salary  of  $25  a  week  and 
more,  an  increase  of  more  than  three  hundred  per  cent  in  vocational  opportu- 
nity for  women.  The  minimum  wage  paid  .  any  woman  in  a  bank  is  $8.00 
a  week,  the  maximum  is  $60.00  a  week,  and  the  average  weekly  wage  at 
the  time  of  this  study  was  $15.50. 

Two  of  the  largest  banks  in  the  city  previously  not  employing  women  to 
any  extent  added  about  three  hundred  women  to  their  staff  during  the  months 
June- September,  1917.  The  problems  of  readjustment  were  many.  Standards 
for  the  employment  of  boys  and  men  had  been  carefully  worked  out  and 
applied,  as  each  messenger  boy  hired  by  a  bank  was,  in  the  eyes  of  the 
employing  official  a  potential  executive  officer.  Girls  employed  were  at 
first  not  so  considered,  being  regarded  as  only  temporary  substitutes  in 
the  majority  of  cases  and,  as  the  substitution  had  to  be  made  rapidly  and  in 
comparatively  large  numbers,  there  was  not  the  opportunity  to  exercise  the 
same  standards  of  qualifications  and  selection  of  women  workers  which  the 
banks  have  learned  through  the  experience  of  this  last  year  to  establish. 
Then,  too,  girls  with  no  previous  working  experience  of  any  nature  were 
placed  in  the  out-of-town,  statement,  transit,  bookkeeping,  and  exchange 
departments  in  which  boys  had  never  been  placed  without  either  experience 
in  clerical  work  in  other  lines  of  business,  or,  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
through  promotion  from  the  position  of  messenger  where  they  had  had 
the  opportunity  to  learn  something  of  the  functions  of  the  different  depart- 
ments, and  the  methods  of  work  in  the  banking  business. 

Naturally,  it  was  found  that  a  larger  force  was  needed  to  accomplish 
the  same  amount  of  work  which  had  formerly  been  done  by  a  smaller  number 
of  men.  For  a  time,  eight. women  were  doing  the  work  formerly  done  by 
three  men  in  one  of  the  out-of-town  departments,,  listing  and  proving  de- 
posits, and  sorting  checks  for  the  different  departments.  In  the  statement 
and  transit  departments,  on  machine  work,  fifteen  girls  at  $40  a  month  would 
take  the  place  of  nine  men  at  $50  a  month.  However,  most  of  these  girls  had 
not  worked  before  and  had  to  learn  to  operate  the  machines,  whereas  the  men 
had  advanced  to  this  work  after  a  year  and  a  half  to  two  years  of  experience 
in  the  bank,  during  which  time  they  had  operated  the  machines.  Again, 


8  WOMEN  IN  BANKING 

in  the  exchange  department,  three  girls  were  needed  to  take  the  place  of 
two  men.  Also,  the  introduction  of  a  larger  number  of  women  workers 
into  an  organization  hitherto  composed  almost  entirely  of  men,  caused 
changes  in  hours  and  methods  of  work,  in  conditions  of  employment,  and  in 
powers  and  duties  of  department  heads.  Some  men  in  executive  positions 
had  never  directed  women  employees  before,  and,  consequently  found  that 
questions  of  discipline,  co-operation  and  assignments  of  work  were  some- 
times too  arbitrary  and  ill-considered.  New  policies  had  to  be  established 
for  the  instruction  of  various  departments  by  the  bank  officials.  Special 
locker  rooms,  rest  room,  and  lunch  room  facilities  were  needed,  and  the 
same  confidential  information  concerning  the  social  history  of  men  employees 
required  by  every  bank  was  found  necessary  for  the  women  employees. 

The  vocational  disabilities  of  women  employees  in  the  banks  during  this 
first  period  of  readjustment  of  bank  machinery  and  viewpoint  to  their 
entrance  seemed  to  be 

1.  Failure  to  concentrate  on  work  they  were  doing. 

a.    Tendency   to    visit   with    each    other.     The    majority   lacked    the 
discipline  of  previous  work  experience. 

2.  Inability  to  stand  the  pressure  of  increased  work  which  had  to  be 
accurately  finished  in  a  short  period  of  time  at  the  end  of  the  month. 
The  girls  made  mistakes,  became  nervous,  and  could  not  speed  up  on 
the  machines.     The  discipline  of  previous  work  and  perhaps  a  super- 
vision of  work  at  speeding  periods  which  arranged  for  proper  rest 
intervals,  with  fresh  ventilation  and  good  light,  might  correct  this 
condition  to  some  extent. 

The  employing  officials  in  the  banks  have  also  learned  that  a  longer 
teaching  period  is  perhaps  necessary  for  the  girl  than  for  the  boy  with  his 
previous  familiarity  with  banking  procedure.  They  also  know  that  persons 
with  no  previous  working  experience  cannot  be  economically  introduced 
into  certain  departments.  For  example,  work  on  bookkeeping  machines 
which  have  been  introduced  so  largely  since  the  war  to  do  the  ledger  work 
formerly  done  by  men,  requires  girls  of  experience  and  maturity  in  order 
to  turn  out  the  necessary  amount  of  work.  This  discrimination  of  the 
officials  as  to  the  proper  selection  and  placing  of  their  women  workers  has 
reduced  considerably  the  disproportion  of  girls  to  men  on  the  same  amount 
of  work,  but  the  fact  remains  that  in  some  departments,  notably  the  transit, 
where  the  pressure  is  most  severe,  the  same  number  of  girls  do  not  accom- 
plish the  same  amount  of  work  formerly  done  by  an  equal  number  of  men. 

After  over  a  year's  experience  in  assimilating  this  large  new  group  of 
workers  with  differences  of  temperament,  habits,  and  work  experience,  the 
banks  are  retaining  women,  as  part  of  their  permanent  working  force,  not 
to  be  eliminated  to  any  great  extent  after  the  war,  and  they  are  recognized 
as  a  source  of  supply  for  promotion  to  positions  of  responsibility  and 
salary. 


WOMEN  IN  BANKING  9 

III 
The  Inside  of  a  Bank 

Most  large  banks  have  the  same  general  organization  and  work  in  the 
proof,  statement,  and  transit  departments.  A  general  description  of  the 
functions  of  these  departments  and  the  kind  of  work  done  in  them,  together 
with  the  duties  of  a  messenger  in  a  bank,  gives  a  foundation  for  indicating 
the  qualifications  and  training  necessary  for  promotion  to  the  departments 
handling  the  more  technical  financial  work.  The  chart  tries  to  show  the 
general  relation  of  departments  where  entering  workers  are  employed  to 
the  more  specialized  departments  to  which  they  may  hope  to  advance.  No 
single  bank  has  this  exact  organization.  Debit,  exchange,  credit,  and  various 
other  departments  vary  according  to  the  individual  bank  and  are  therefore 
not  indicated. 

The  lowest  entering  position  in  a  bank  is  that  of  messenger.  The  duties 
of  a  messenger  vary  considerably.  He  first  takes  charge  of  the  mailing, 
taking  mail  to  and  from  the  postoffice,  morning  and  night.  On  returning  the 
mail  to  the  bank  in  the  morning,  he  is  sent  around  the  business  district  to 
a  regular  number  of  firms  to  collect  drafts,  to  deliver  coupons,  bonds,  notes, 
real  estate  papers,  returned  checks,  and  various  other  classes  of  paper  which 
it  is  necessary  to  present  for  payment  each  day. 

While  doing  this,  he  has  an  opportunity  to  learn  the  location  and  kinds 
of  business  carried  on  by  different  firms,  and  something  of  their  business 
methods.  If  he  is  observant,  he  acquires  much  information  as  to  sources 
of  supplies  for  commodities  purchased  by  merchants  in  the  town. 

When  a  draft  is  presented  by  a  messenger,  a  request  is  made  by  him 
for  payment.  If  payment  is  refused,  a  reason  is  given.  If  the  drawee 
desires  the  item  to  be  held,  that  statement  is  made.  In  case  of  payment,  the 
messenger  secures  from  the  customer  a  check  drawn  on  a  Minneapolis 
bank  dated  the  same  day  that  the  item  is  presented. 

Besides  this  principal  duty,  the  messengers  take  care  of  returned  checks 
to  clearing  house  banks,  notify  drawees  of  items  which  are  outside  the 
messenger  zone  by  telephone,  write  return  letters  for  items  that  have  been 
refused,  and  list,  in  the  proof  department,  deposits,  checks  and  drafts 
collected  during  the  day. 

Girls  are  being  employed  almost  wholly  on  inside  messenger  work  for 
tellers  and  in  the  transit  department.  About  fifty  girls  are  now  working  as 
outside  messengers.  Office  boys  are  also  employed  for  the  service  of  officers 
and  department  heads.  The  office  boy  acquires  perhaps  more  general  infor- 
mation about  the  %  departments  and  inside  business  of  the  bank  than  does 
the  messenger,  but,  in  order  to  enter  the  regular  line  of  promotion  he  must 
usually  become  a  messenger  and  learn  the  detail  routine  of  that  position. 

After  a  messenger  has  worked  three  to  nine  months  he  may  be  promoted 
to  the  proof,  statement,  or  transit  department.  In  the  proof  department 
deposits  are  listed  and  proved  on  adding  machines  and  checks  are  sorted 
for  various  departments. 


10 


WOMEN  IN  BANKING 


Department  Chart 


Messenger 

I 

Proof  Department 
Listing 


Statement  Department 

(Bookkeeping  Machines) 

(Filing) 


Machines 
Sorting 
Checks 


Transit  Department 
(Listing  on  Adding  Machines) 

(Sorting  Checks) 
(Bookkeeping  Machines) 


Out-of-town    Incoming 
Checks  Mail 


Clearance        Eastern 
Remittances 


Draft  Department 
Tellers 


Collection  Department 
Tellers 


Tellers 


Pa> 

. 
ing 

Savings 

1 
Ladies 

1 
Receiving 

Credit  Department 
Tellers 


Auditor 


Discount  Department 
Tellers 


WOMEN  IN  BANKING  11 

The  statement  department  deals  with  town  and  bank  business  since  it 
handles  depositors  accounts.  The  statement  clerks  prepare  statements  of  the 
depositor's  account  every  month.  Checks  drawn  against  the  accounts  as  well 
as  the  deposits  are  listed  on  bookkeeping  machines,  and  summed  up  to  obtain 
the  final  balance.  The  balance  sheet,  together  with  the  cancelled  checks, 
are  filed  in  an  envelope  bearing  the  depositor's  name  to  be  presented  at 
his  request. 

Ledger  clerks  post  the  deposits  and  withdrawals  of  each  customer. 
Ledgers  in  which  the  customers'  names  are  printed  alphabetically  are  divided 
among  the  clerks  who  are  all  doing  exactly  the  same  work.  Individual 
ability  is  demonstrated  in  this  work  not  only  by  the  accuracy  and  speed 
with  which  it  is  performed,  but  also  in  initiative  in  calling  the  attention  of 
officers  to  any  unusual  condition  of  the  depositor's  account. 

The  work  of  the  Transit  Department  consists  in  the  listing  and  collection 
of  checks  deposited  to  the  credit  of  customers  of  the  bank  which  are  either 
drawn  against  other  local  banks  or  against  out-of-town  banks,  and  the  listing 
and  payment  of  checks  drawn  against  customers'  accounts.  All  checks 
received  from  Eastern  or  Western  firms  in  payment  for  local  purchases, 
those  deposited  by  country  banks,  and  individual  and  local  checks  deposited 
or  drawn  against  the  bank  by  customers  are  first  listed  with  the  amount 
and  name  of  the  individual  or  bank  depositing  the  check. 

Checks  drawn  against  local  banks  are  handled  in  the  clearance  division; 
checks  on  out-of-town  banks  are  generally  divided  into  Eastern  remittances 
and  other  out-of-town  checks  and  handled  separately. 

In  the  clearance  division  two  classes  of  checks  are  handled :  those  de- 
"  posited  to  the  credit  of  customers  of  the  bank  and  drawn  against  other  local 
banks,  and  those  drawn  against  individual  accounts  in  the  bank.  The  first 
are  sorted  according  to  the  banks  they  are  drawn  against,  listed  and  totaled 
on  adding  machines  for  each  bank.  These  checks  are  then  taken  each 
morning  at  eleven  o'clock  to  the  clearing  house  where  they  are  paid. 

Checks  received  by  the  bank  drawn  against  individual  and  bank  cus- 
tomers' accounts  come  from  two  'sources,  departments  within  the  bank  and 
from  the  clearing  house  from  other  banks  when  they  have  been  deposited. 
These  checks  are  also  listed  and  totaled  on  adding  machines  and  then  sent 
to  the  bookkeeping  department  where  they  are  charged  against  customers' 
accounts  on  bookkeeping  machines. 

Out-of-town  and  Eastern  remittance  checks  are  sorted  according  to  the 
banks,  listed  on  adding  machines,  and  itemized  in  collection  letters  sent  out 
daily  to  these  banks  for  settlement  of  checks  drawn  against  them. 

The  work  in  this  department  varies  a  great  deal  and,  while  working  here, 
one  secures  a  good  general  idea  of  the  routine  of  all  checks  that  come  in 
and  go  out  of  the  bank.  Since  practically  all  this  work  is  done  by  adding 
machines,  clerks  in  this  department  gain  great  speed  on  the  machine  and 
accuracy  in  work,  as  the  items  must  be  correct  before  they  leave  the  bank. 
In  addition,  they  become  familiar  with-  the  method  of  settling  clearings  at 
eleven  o'clock,  at  which  time  the  Minneapolis  Clearing  House  Association 


12  WOMEN  IN  BANKING 

exchange  their  checks.  The  period  of  employment  in  this  department  varies 
between  twelve  and  eighteen  months. 

Clerks  experienced  in  these  departments  become  familiar  with  the  general 
kinds  of  detail  work  in  a  large  bank,  and  may  be  placed  on  a  bookkeeping 
job.  In  several  banks  ledgers  are  kept  on  bookkeeping  machines,  and  the 
replacement  of  men  by  women,  together  with  the  normal  increase  of  busi- 
ness, and  that  incident  to  the  Liberty  Loans,  has  caused  the  introduction  of 
a  large  number  of  bookkeeping  and  adding  machines  in  the  bigger  banks. 
The  clerk's  principal  duty  is  to  post  the  debits  on  the  debit  side  of  the 
account  and  the  credits  on  the  credit  side. '  The  machine  automatically  adds 
and  subtracts  so  that  a  good  deal  of  the  mental  calculation  which  was 
required  before,  has  been  mechanically  eliminated.  However,  in  order  to 
run  such  a  machine  efficiently,  a  person  must  have  a  clear  knowledge  of 
bank  work,  mathematical  ability,  and  intelligence  above  the  average.  These 
machines  are  also  used  in  the  statement  and  transit  departments. 

From  the  bookkeeping  machine  a  clerk  may  be  promoted  to  an  assistant 
teller,  where  he  would  come  in  contact  with  the  handling  of  money,  study  of 
signatures  of  customers,  the  receiving  of  deposits,  and  the  paying  of  money. 

If  a  bookkeeper  is  not  promoted  to  paying  or  receiving  teller,  he  might 
be  placed  in  a  department  like  the  city  or  country  collections,  the  discount 
or  collateral,  the  draft  teller  or  savings  department,  the  currency  or  salvage 
departments,  or  various  other  teller  positions,  which  are  always  open  for 
an  efficient  bookkeeper. 

The  work  carried  on  in  the  discount,  draft,  collection  and  audit  depart- 
ments is  more  technical  in  nature.  Usually  men  spend  several  years  before 
advancing  to  clerical  work  in  these  departments. 


WOMEN  IN  BANKING 


13 


IV 
What  Women  Do  in  Minneapolis  Banks 

All  of  the  various  kinds  of  work  which  is  done  in  banks  may  be 
generally  described  as  clerical.  Some  work  such  as  that  of  managers  of 
departments,  tellers,  private  secretaries,  or  law  clerks,  is  technical  and 
professional,  some  such  as  stenographer,  bookkeeper,  typist,  addressograph 
operator,  adding  machine  and  telephone  operator,  is  specialized  and  mechan- 
ical, while  the  work  done  by  a  comparatively  large  proportion  of  the  em- 
ployees is  described  as  that  of  clerk  in  a  given  department. 

About  265  of  the  635  women  employed  in  the  banks  of  the  city  are 
doing  work  which  does  not  to  any  extent  involve  experience  on  any  machine. 
Section  1.  General  Clerical  Work: 


TABLE  A 

Classification  of  Work  by  Wage  and  Age,  Women  Employed  as  Clerks, 


Age  |                                                      Weekly 

Wage 

under) 

over  | 

8  00|  8-10|  10-12]  12-14|  14-16)  16-18|  18-20  j  20-25]  25-30  1  30-35  |354C 

40|  Total 

16-18 

4 

1 

5 

18-20 

1 

27 

10 

1 

1 

39 

20-22 

28  |    16 

4| 

1 

1 

1                   1         1       50 

22-24 

1 

12 

19 

7 

2 

1                  1         1       41 

24-26 

9  |     6 

6 

2 

3 

3 

1                   1         1       29 

26-28 

3  |     3 

4 

2 

2 

1 

!                   1         1       15 

28-30 

1  |     2 

1 

1 

3 

1                   118 

30-35 

3 

3 

3 

3 

1 

4 

1.1             ,1         1       18 

35-40 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1            |                 6 

40-45 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1           4 

over45 

1  1      1  1 

2 

1 

5 

Total  |                2 

89 

62 

27 

10 

12 

14 

2 

1 

1  j     220 

Almost  seventy  per  cent  of  these  clerks  are  under  twenty-six  years  of  age 
and  receive  less  than  $16  a  week,  the  majority  being  between  the  ages  of 
twenty  and  twenty-four.  The  entering  wage  of  most  women  workers  in  banks 
is  $10  a  week,  and  the  lowest  age  is  eighteen.  This,  in  the  majority  of 
cases,  means  that  these  girls  have  just  finished  high  school  and  have  had  no 
previous  business  experience.  The  group  of  girls  between  twenty  and 
twenty-four  who  are  receiving  $10-$14  a  week  is  also  largely  one  which 
has  had  no  previous  work  experience  prior  to  their  entering  into  banks 
from  June,  1917,  to  the  date  of  this  study.  We  also  find  in  the  wage  group, 
$10-$14  a  week,  slight  evidence  of  the  entrance  of  the  woman  over  thirty 
into  employment  for  the  first  time. 


14  WOMEN  IN  BANKING 

The  banks  have  more  specifically  described  the  work  done  by  other 
clerks  in  the  following  list : 

Sorting  mail 1 

Messenger    1 

Counting  currency 1 

Statistical  clerk   1 

Bond  clerk  2 

Advising  clerk   2 

Analysis   clerk    2 

Liberty  Loans  clerk 3 

Statement  clerks    3 

Recording  clerks   3 

Exchange  clerks 4 

Sorting  clerks 7 

Transit  clerks   6 

File  clerks   7 

Checking  bond  deliveries 1 

Law  clerk 1 

45 

Doubtless  many  others  of  the  workers  described  only  as  clerks  are  doing 
one  or  more  of  the  above  mentioned  things,  their  duties  being  too  miscel- 
laneous in  character  to  describe  succinctly. 

A  small  group  of  the  clerks,  sixteen  per  cent,  are  over  twenty-four  years 
of  age,  and  are  receiving  $16  a  week  or  more,  indicating  either  that  they 
have  had  other  clerical  experience  before  entering  the  bank  or  have  advanced 
to  these  salaries  since  April,  1917,  as  probably  not  five  of  these  thirty-six 
were  then  employed  as  clerks  at  more  than  $16  a  week. 

When  we  consider  the  ante-bellum  wage  and  age  of  the  boy  entering  a 
bank  in  the  lowest  position  at  $25  to  $30  a  month  at  eighteen  years  of  age 
and  that  the  majority  of  men  employed  in  banks  only  advanced  to  $1,000 
a  year  in  salary  after  employment  for  three  or  four  years,  we  find  that 
women,  though  entering  at  a  little  higher  age,  have  also  entered  at  a 
higher  wage. 


WOMEN  IN  BANKING 


15 


Section  2.     General  mechanical  work. 

Typists  are  employed  in  the  Transit  Department  at  the  following  wage: 

TABLE  B 

Classification  of  Work  by  Wage  and  Age,  Women  Employed  as  Typists, 


Age  |under| 


Weekly  Wage 


over  | 


|    800|  8-10|10-12|l2-14|14-16!l6-18|18-20l20-25|25-30|30-35|3540|     40 1  Total 


16-18 

18-20 

1 

2 

4 

7 

20-22 

2 

5 

1 

8 

22-24 

1 

3 

1 

2 

7 

24-26 

1 

1 

1 

3 

26-28 

1 

1 

. 

2 

28-30 

1 

1 

2 

30-35 

1 

1 

3540 

40-45 

over45 

1 

Total 

I 

2 

7 

13 

4 

3 

1 

30 

Many  of  the  clerks  with  miscellaneous  duties  operate  adding  machines 
part  of  the  day,  though  only  a  few  who  work  in  the  proof,  statement,  and 
transit  departments  are  specifically  described  as  adding  machine  operators. 
From  the  wage  and  age  of  the  workers  thus  engaged,  this  is  one  of  the 
beginning  routine  jobs  in  a  bank  which  has  to  be  done  mechanically  and  is 
only  valuable  for  the  amount  of  work  accomplished  and  the  speed  and 
accuracy  with  which  it  is  done.  The  youth  of  the  majority  of  the  workers 
indicates  also  that  this  is  one  of  the  kinds  of  work  done  six  months  and  a 
year  after  entering  the  bank.  The  adding  machine  is  used  as  an  adjunct 
to  the  work  in  all  departments. 

TABLE  C 

Classification  of  Wrork  by  Wage  and  Age.     Women  Employed  on  Adding 

Machines. 


Age  1  under  I 


Weekly  Wage 


|  over  | 


8  00|  8-10|10-12|12-14|14-16|16-18|18-20!20-25|25-30!30-35|3540|     40]Total 


16-18 

1 

i 

18-20 

3 

13 

4 

1 

21 

20-22 

1 

14 

3 

2 

20 

22-24 

6 

4 

10 

24-26 

3 

1 

4 

26-28 

2 

2 

28-30             | 

1 

1 

! 

I 

; 

- 

i 

30-35 

1 

1 

2 

35-40 

4045 

over45| 

- 

Total  | 

4 

40 

13 

3 

60 

16 


WOMEN  IN  BANKING 


Operation    of   the    following   machines   gives    employment   in   banks   to 
very  few  women,  as  indicated  by  the  table  below : 

No. 

Multigraph  operators    2 

1 

Printer   1 

Addressograph  operators 2 

Comptometer  operators   2 

Twelve  telephone  operators  are  employed  in  five  of  the  down-town  banks, 
at  the  following 'ages  and  weekly  wage: 

TABLE  D 

Classification  of  Work  by  Wage  and  Age.    Women  Employed  as  Telephone 

Operators. 


Age. 

Wage. 

16-20 

$10-12 

26-28 

14-16 

26-28 

14-16 

16-18 

8-10 

12-14 

20-22 

16-18 

24-26 

18-20 

Age 


Weekly  Wage 


|  over  | 


10-12|  12-14 

14-16|  16-18 

18-20|  20-25|25-30|30-35|3540|     40  1        Total 

16-18 

1 

1 

1 

18-20 

1 

1 

i 

20-22 

1 

1 

1 

1 

2 

22-24 

1 

1 

1 

24-26 

1 

i 

1 

26-28 

1 

i 

1 

28-30 

1  1           1        1 

1 

1         1 

3 

30-35 

1  1 

1 

r 

o 

3540 

1 

1 

1 

40-45 

1 

1          1 

over45| 

1          1 

Totals]        3 

1 

1 

3|       1  |       1  |     2 

i 

12 

In  some  positions  a  switchboard  operator  has  a  confidential  and  highly 
responsible  relation  to  the  business.  She  receives  and  sends  telegrams 
involving  most  important  matters,  is  the  representative  of  the  bank  with 
the  public  and  has  duties  most  comparable  to  those  of  confidential  secretary. 
She  must  know  the  kind  of  work  carried  on  in  all  departments  of  the  bank 
in  order  to  refer  calls  to  the  proper  authority,  thus  giving  service  to  the 
public  and  conserving  the  time  of  bank  officials.  For  such  services  she 
should  be  correspondingly  remunerated. 
Section  3.  Specialized  and  Mechanical  Work. 

Though  the  table  of  wage  and  age  of  bookkeepers  does  not  show  much 
opportunity  for  large  increase  in  salary  in  this  particular  field,  yet  the 
training  and  experience  gained  here  is  valuable  for  promotion  as  has  been 
indicated.  Some  banks  have  a  bookkeeping  department  where  items  from 
the  statement,  transit,  exchange  and  other  departments  are  posted  on 
machines;  others  use  bookkeeping  machines  in  the  statement,  transit,  and 
audit  departments. 


WOMEN  IN  BANKING 


17 


TABLE  E 

Classification  of  Work  by  Wage  and  Age.  Women  Employed  as  Bookkeepers. 


Age| 

Weekly  Wage                      over  | 

|    8-10(10-12 

12-14|14-16|16-18|18-20|20-25|25-30|30-35|35-40I    40  |         |Total 

16-18  |       1 

1 

1         1 

1          1          1          1 

1         1        2 

18-20 

7 

3 

3 

!       1       1       1       1 

1         1       11 

20-22 

1 

2 

5  |     3 

3 

1       1       !       1 

|         1       14 

22-24 

|     3  |      1  |      1 

2  I         I         I         I 

1       i      7 

24-26 

2 

6 

3 

1 

1  1                   II 

!       13 

26-28 

3 

1 

4 

1  1      1  1         1         1 

1       1     10 

28-30 

1 

1 

1  1      1  1                   1 

1         I        4 

30-35 

1 

1 

1  1 

1        3 

3540 

1 

2 

1 

1 

1        3 

40-45 

| 

1 

1  $50            |         1 

over45|           I          I          I          I 

1 

Totals]      2 

12 

23  |    11  |    11 

5  1     3  |         |         ! 

1  |         |       68 

Eight  of  the  above,  of  the  following  wage  and  age,  are  doing  ledger 
work : 

No.  Age.          Weekly  Wage. 


18-20 
20-22 
24-26 
24-26 
24-26 
26-28 


$10-12 
10-12 
16-18 
14-16 
12-14 
12-14 


Four  women  not  included  in  the  general  tables  for  bookkeepers  and 

stenographers  are  doing  combination  bookkeeping  and  stenography : 

No.  Age.          Weekly  Wage. 

1  20-22  $12-14 

1  22-24  12-14 

1  30-35  25-30 

1  .  .  30-35  14-16 


The  work  of  one  woman  between  the  ages  of  24  and  26  is  described  as 
accounting,  she  receiving  $18-20  a  week.  Two  women  are  doing  auditing,  one 
24-26,  at  $16-18  a  week,  and  the  other,  40-45  at  $22-24  a  week.  One  billing 
clerk,  20-22,  receives  $16-18  a  week.  Many  of  the  clerks  in  banks  do  work 
such  as  posting  and  listing,  which  might  be  called  elementary  bookkeeping,  in 
addition  to  other  clerical  duties.  However,  they  are  not  designated  by  banks 
employing  them  as  bookkeepers.  As  stated  in  the  preceding  description  of 
bank  work,  bookkeepers  obtain  an. excellent  idea  of  the  many  sides  of  bank 
work,  together  with  training  in  accuracy,  speed  and  discrimination  as  to 
good  and  bad  credit.  They  thus  come  into  the  line  of  promotion  to  assistant 
tellers. 


18 


WOMEN  IN  BANKING 


Twice  as  many  stenographers  are  employed  as  so-called  bookkeepers. 
Twenty- two  stenographers  receive  a  weekly  wage  of  $25  or  more,  while  only 
one  bookkeeper  receives  more  than  $25,  she  receiving  a  salary  of  $50  a  week. 
Banks  offer  an  attractive  field  to  the  stenographer  of  sufficient  education  and 
personality,  if  one  gauge  vocational  opportunity  solely  by  wage,  since  almost 
twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  stenographers  receive  $25  a  week  or  more,  two  un- 
der the  age  of  twenty-six  being  in  this  group.  Two  over  thirty,  are  employed 
as  private  secretaries,  at  a  salary  range  of  $25  to  $35  a  week.  From  the 
standpoint  of  the  college  graduate,  who  has  taken  a  year  of  business  training 
and  then  desires  to  enter  banking  work,  the  beginning  wage  would  seem  to 
be  $16-18  a  week.  Her  opportunity  would  lie  usually  along  secretarial  lines, 
though,  by  transfer,  she  might  enter  the  line  of  promotion  to  teller,  as  de- 
scribed previously. 


TABLE  F 

Classification  of  Work  by  Wage  and  Age. 
Stenographers. 


Women  Employed  as 


Age  | 


Weekly  Wage 


8-101  10-12  112-14 

14-16|16-18|18-20|20-25|25-30|30-35|35-40!    40 

(Total 

16-18 

1 

2 

2 

1 

1 

4 

18-20 

1     4 

9 

2 

2  I 

1 

17 

20-22 

1 

2 

2 

5 

5 

2 

2 

20 

22-24 

2 

1 

4 

8 

15 

24-26 

1 

1 

4 

7 

1 

1 

14 

26-28 

| 

3 

3 

5 

2 

| 

13 

28-30  | 

1  1 

3 

5 

2 

1  1 

12 

30-35  | 

1 

2 

3 

5 

11 

7 

2 

31 

35-40  | 

1 

1 

4 

1 

1  1     " 

7 

4045  !          | 

1 

1 

1 

1  1 

3 

over45l 

1          1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

3 

Totals)       2  |      8 

15 

13 

18  |    17 

44 

16 

5  |      1 

139 

Section  Four.     Specialized  Technical  and  Professional  Work. 

One  woman  employed  as  a  combination  stenographer  and  teller  receives 
$25-$30  a  week.  Tellers,  managers,  and  assistant  managers  of  departments, 
represent  so  far  the  ultimate  vocational  opportunity  of  women  in  banks.  One 
woman  over  forty,  receives  $60-65  a  week  as  manager  of  a  mortgage  and 
interest  department.  Assistant  managers  receive  $25.00  and  more  a  week.  Six 
large  banks  and  eleven  of  the  smaller  banks  employ  women  as  tellers.  Again, 
25%  of  these  receive  $25  and  more  a  week.  Some  teller  positions  are  within 
departments  and  as  such  are  open  to  younger  women,  of  course  at  the  smaller 
salaries.  However,  their  line  of  promotion  is  quite  clear  to  the  better  posi- 
tions of  larger  responsibility  and  salary,  where  they  come  in  contact  with  the 
public. 


WOMEN  IN  BANKING 


19 


Classification  of  Work  by  Wage  and  Age.     Women  Employed  as  Tellers. 

TABLE  G 


Age 


Weekly  Wage 


|  over 


|  10-12|  12-14|  14-16|  16-18|  18-20|  20-25|  25-30|  30-35|  35-40|    40  |  Total 


16-18 

i 

18-20 

2 

1 

2 

20-22 

1 

2 

2 

22-24 

2 

4 

2  |        1 

1 

10 

24-26 

1 

1 

2 

3 

26-28 

1 

3          1 

5 

28-30 

1          1 

2          2 

2 

8 

30-35 

3 

3          2 

8 

35-40 

| 

4045 

* 

1 

1 

over  45 

1 

2 

2 

Total 

4 

5 

3  |       6 

12          8 

3 

41 

The    following    Summary    represents    the    Occupational    Distribution  of 
Women  in  Minneapolis  Banks : 

Kind  of  Work  Number 

General  Clerical  Work 220 

Specified   Clerical   Work 45 

Typists    30 

Adding    Machine 60 

Multigraph    Operator    3 

Printer 1 

Addressograph     2 

Comptometer    . . . . 2 

Telephone    Operators    12 

Bookkeeper     68 

Bookkeeper  and  Stenographer  ". 4 

Accounting     1 

Auditing    2 

Bill  Clerk    1 

Stenographer ' 139 

Private    Secretary    2 

Manager    Department 1 

Stenographer-Teller 1 

Teller 41 

635 

It  is  worth  noting  that,  aside  from  the  tellers,  all  of  whom  have  had 
experience  in  operating  at  least  an  adding  machine,  303  of  the  635  are  directly 

engaged  in  work  on  some  kind  of  a  machine  which  is  concerned  with  the 
transfer  and  recording  of  money. 


20  WOMEN  IN  BANKING 

V 
Replacement. 

In  the  four  months  following  our  entry  into  the  war  several  banks  were 
forced  to  employ  quite  large  groups  of  new  women  workers  to  take  the 
specific  positions  left  vacant  by  men  who  entered  the  service.  Since  that 
time,  the  normal  increase  of  business,  together  with  the  additional  activities 
connected  with  the  Liberty  Loans,  has  enlarged  the  working  forces  of  the 
banks.  Such  new  employees  added  were,  of  course,  women.  In  some  cases 
they  actually  entered  a  position  which  a  man  was  leaving,  in  others,  they 
did  work  for  which  formerly  men  had  been  employed,  though  the  individual 
woman  did  not  really  take  the  place  of  an  individual  man. 

The  Industrial  Survey  of  Women  Employed  Outside  the  Home  tried  to 
obtain  special  data  in  regard  to  women  who  replaced  men,  in  addition  to 
the  occupational  and  social  history  requested  in  regard  to  every  other  woman 
employee.  The  following  questions  were  asked : 

Name  and  address  of  woman  replacing  man. 

Name  and  address  of  man  replaced. 

If  man  is  in  Service,  give  branch. 

Present  wage  per  week  of  woman. 

Wages  paid  man  replaced. 

Total  hours  per  week  of  woman. 

Total  hours  per  week  of  man  replaced. 

Since  the  introduction  of  women  into  work  formerly  done  by  men  had, 
in  the  case  of  banks,  been  taking  place  gradually  for  a  year  and  a  half  at 
the  time  the  above  data  was  requested,  it  is  obvious  that  such  a  specific 
record  of  that  change  could  not  be  given.  However,  we  have  the  following 
information  in  regard  to  replacements  in  certain  departments  just  prior  to 
July  15,  1918.  Since  entering  workers  usually  do  general  clerical  work  in 
banks  and  since  men  leaving  the  banks  in  largest  numbers  are  those  of  the 
younger  ages  in  the  draft,  it  is  natural  to  find  a  larger  record  of  replace- 
ments in  this  group  than  in  the  others. 

Though  the  banks  paid  thirty-one  women  a  total  of  $388  a  week  as 
against  $368.41  paid  twenty-eight  men,  whom  they  replaced  in  Clerical  work, 
yet  these  men  had  probably  been  in  the  employ  of  the  bank  for  from  nine  to 
fifteen  months  longer  than  the  women  replacing  them.  These  girls  received 
an  average  weekly  wage  of  $12.51,  while  men  had  received  an  average  wage 
of  $16.73,  both  girls  and  men  replaced  working  the  same  average  weekly 
hours.  In  two  cases  girls  receiving  $11  a  week  did  the  work  formerly  done 
by  one  man  at  $20  a  week.  One  man  paid  $25  a  week  was  replaced  by  two 
girls  paid  $11  a  week,  and  another  receiving  $24  was  replaced  by  two  girls 
paid  each  $13.75  a  week. 

On  bookkeeping  work,  six  girls  at  an  average  weekly  wage  of  $13.29  have 
replaced  five  men  previously  employed  at  an  average  weekly  wage  of  $20,  a 
total  weekly  wage  for  women  of  $79.41  as  compared  with  $100  for  the  five 
men.  Two  of  these  at  $13.75  a  week  replaced  one  man  at  $25  a  week.  Five 
men  averaged  46,  hours  a  week,  where  the  six  girls  replacing  them  average 
48  hours  a  week,  indicating  greater  speed  and  proficiency  on  the  part  of  the 


WOMEN  IN  BANKING  21 

Six  women  tellers  receiving  a  total  of  $128.75  or  an  individual  average 
of  $21.45  replaced  six  men  who  had  been  paid  a  weekly  total  of  $157.83,  an 
individual  average  of  $26.30.  Here  again,  the  period  of  experience  in  bank 
work  had  been  shorter  for  the  women  than  for  the  men.  Judging  from  the 
present  weekly  wage  of  experienced  women  tellers,  there  is  still  opportunity 
for  advancement  for  this  group  of  tellers  who  have  just  replaced  men. 

VI 
Professional  Opportunities  in  Banks. 

As  has  been  described,  the  largest  amount  of  replacement  of  men  by 
women  in  any  line  of  business  in  this  city  occurred  in  the  banks.  So 
here  one  may  expect  the  largest  amount  of  group  adjustment.  To  date 
as  many  as  sixteen  men  have  returned  to  theiir  old  positions  in  a  single 
bank,  who  will  do  the  work  done  by  thirty  or  more  women,  yet  the 
number  of  women  who  have  been  released  is  still  small.  Women  have 
proved  their  value  as  bank  employees  and  the  normal  expansion  of  busi- 
ness is  absorbing  a  larger  force  of  employees.  Eliminating  the  positions 
of  directors  or  officers  in  banks  which  are  only  open  to  men,  although 
there  is  one  woman  bank  director  in  the  city,  vocational  opportunities 
in  a  bank  may  reasonably  be  discussed  from  the  personal  standpoint  of 
qualifications,  training,  and  experience. 

In  general,  three  types  of  workers  have  been  employed  in  banks. 
Many  men  having  no  specialised  business  preference,  with  some  ability 
along  mathematical  lines  and  some  interest  in  handling  money,  have 
entered  banks  as  messengers  and  progressed  steadily  through  the  work 
of  the  various  departments  until,  by  virtue  of  years  of  experience,  per- 
severance, and  'accuracy,  they  arrive  at  positions  of  certain  responsibility. 
Such  have  always  been  assured  of  a  salary  sufficient  to  maintain  an 
average  sized  family  according  to  ordinary  standards  of  living  as  the 
banks  believe  that  family  responsibility  to  a  certain  extent  increases  the 
dependability  of  their  employees.  To  those,  banking  is  a  business,  not  a 
profession.  Others,  entering  at  the  same  time  in  the  same  kind  of 
work,  having  energy,  intelligence,  a  "sense"  for  figures,  an  interest  in 
handling  varieties  of  money,  and  that  quality  of  curiosity  which  led 
them  to  question  the  why's  and  wherefore's  of  combinations  of  money 
and  kinds  of  business  passing  through  their  hands,  though  advancing 
through  the  same  routine,  yet  developed  a  technique  and  judgment  by 
such  unconscious  analysis  of  their  work  that  they  become  valuable  for 
executive  positions  of  responsibility  involving  financial  transactions  of 
large  size. 

Again,  many  boys  have  entered  banks,  remaining  there  for  two  or 
three  years,  and  then  have  gone  into  some  special  kind  of  business  which 
interested  them,  after  having  obtained  an  excellent  general  business 
education. 

Banks  hold  forth  to  women  the  same  opportunity,  depending  practi- 
cally to  the  same  degree  upon  their  education,  application,  and  innate 


22  WOMEN  IN  BANKING 

ability.  The  physical  qualifications  for  workers  in  a  bank  seem  to  be  the 
ability  to  do  mental  work  through  long  periods  of  physical  inaction,  and 
to  resist  the  strain  of  intense  concentration  and  speed  in  mental  and 
mechanical  operations,  such  as  sorting,  counting,  filing,  and  operating 
machines. 

At  least  a  general  high  school  education  is  necessary  for  the  majority 
of  workers  in  a  bank  in  order  that  they  and  their  employers  may  profit 
from  their  experience.  The  banks  do  not  seek  commercial  course  grad- 
uates, though  the  ability  to  operate  an  adding  machine  or  typewriter  may 
more  greatly  facilitate  the  advancement  of  girls.  Accuracy  in  figures, 
good  penmanship,  energy,  and  initiative  are  essential  to  a  girl  desiring 
either  promotion  within  a  bank  or  the  opportunity  for  a  business  education 
and  training  before  transferring  to  some  other  specialized  line. 

Except  for  stenographers  seeking  secretarial  positions,  a  girl  with 
no  previous  working  experience,  an  interest  in  figures  and  money  trans- 
actions, would  seem  to  enter  banking  more  auspiciously  if  she  had  ac- 
quired facility  in  operating  an  adding  machine.  These  are  used  in 
almost  every  department  in  the  bank,  from  proof  to  audit,  tellers  even 
operating  them  frequently  in  their  daily  work.  Girls  with  speed  and 
dexterity  in  the  operation  of  these  machines,  with  some  instruction  in 
elements  of  accountancy  and  banking  practice  which  is  usually  given 
them  in  the  banking  school,  advance  much  more  rapidly  to  work  on  the 
bookkeeping  machines  which  is  not  open  to  inexperienced  operators. 
From  these  the  line  of  promotion  is  clear  to  teller  positions  in  various 
departments  where  one  uses  both  adding  and  bookkeeping  machines 
and  must  have  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  general  work  of  the  bank. 

As  indicated  previously,  in  the  bookkeeping  department  experience 
with  all  kinds  of  bank  business  is  obtained,  and  girls  with  ability  to  meet 
the  public,  and  organize,  supervise,  and  check  the  work  of  others,  are 
soon  irecognized  by  promotion  in  position  and  salary. 

An  adding  machine  operator,  age  twenty-two,  receiving  $70  a  month  in 
July,  1918,  was  promoted  three  months  later  to  assistant  management  of  one 
of  the  entering  departments  at  $85  a  month.  Another  girl,  a  college  grad- 
uate of  the  age  of  twenty- four,  who  August  1  was  sorting  mail,  at  a  weekly 
wage  of  $13.75,  in  October  had  been  promoted  to  a  position  of  teller  at  a 
salary  of  $22.50  a  week. 

The  first  was  an  excellent  operator  with  initiative  and  the  ability  to  or- 
ganize and  direct  the  work  of  others.  The  second  had,  in  her  former  posi- 
tion, learned  the  kind  of  work  done  in  every  department  in  the  bank,  the 
forms  for  listing  various  kinds  of  accounts  and  the  listing,  proving,  and 
checking  of  items,  and  the  handling  of  checks  and  drafts — all  excellent 
training  for  the  work  of  teller. 

Examples  of  such  rapid  promotion  are  to  some  degree  exceptional,  yet 
they  indicate  that  even  in  a  large  departmental  organization  with  complicated 
clerical  detail,  initiative,  intelligence,  ability,  and  service  are  certain  to 
receive  recognition. 


WOMEN  IN  BANKING  23 

The  qualifications  for  a  worker  in  a  bank  are,  in  general,  a  high  school 
education,  mathematical  ability,  legible  penmanship,  alertness,  general 
adaptability  and  excellent  character. 

The  conditions  of  employment  are  for  the  majority  of  the  women  work- 
ers excellent.  In  a  few  of  the  smaller  banks,  as  well  as  one  or  two  of  the 
larger,  sanitary  conditions  cannot  be  reported  as  entirely  "good."  In  some 
departments  of  large  banks,  girls  have  worked  in  small,  crowded  rooms  with 
artificial  light  and  poor  ventilation.  These  conditions  are  not  irremediable 
nor  unrecognized  by  the  officials  of  the  banks  who  have  passed  through  such 
strenuous  periods  of  readjustments  and  pressure  of  work  in  the  past  year. 
In  some  cases  at  the  end  of  the  month  girls  have  worked  evenings  to  com- 
plete the  necessary  work.  This  has  almost  entirely  been  eliminated.  The 
general  appearances  of  banking  quarters,  the  personnel  of  the  force,  the 
patronage,  the  kind  of  work,  and  mechanical  equipment  provided  for  the 
use  of  the  workers  are  all  of  the  highest  quality. 

The  opportunities  Open  to  women  for  promotion  to  positions  of  respon- 
sibility and  remuneration  have  been  described.  Women  seeking  permanent 
employment  and  a  professional  career  may,  with  the  same  ability  and  quali- 
fications, expect  the  same  rewards  in  promotion  and  salary  as  men.  These 
come  more  slowly  in  normal  than  in  war  times  and  girls  desiring  promotion 
to  responsible  positions  must  expect  to  spend  two  to  four  years  mastering 
the  detailed  routine  and  acquiring  the  requisite  proficiency  in  speed  and 
accuracy.  From  the  standpoint  of  environment,  training,  and  salary,  no 
better  opportunity  exists  in  this  city  in  high  grade  commercial  firms  employ- 
ing forces  of  more  than  a  hundred  workers  each. 

Aside  from  the  training  received  through  the  actual  performance  of 
work  connected  with  a  specific  job,  women  employees  of  the  large  banks 
participate  in  the  training  courses  offered  under  the  auspices  of  the  American 
Institute  of  Banking.  Training  in  business  methods  and  banking  practice 
obtained  through  such  employment  could  well  be  capitalized  by  women  who 
wished,  after  a  period,  to  transfer  to  some  commercial  line  employing  smaller 
numbers  but  offering  larger  remuneration  and  greater  scope  for  individual 
initiative  and  executive  ability. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


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General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 

BY  THE  INLAND  PRESS,  MJNNEAPOUS 


593293 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


